Where does “סמעטענע” come from?

סמעטענע (Yiddish) comes from Polish śmietana, from Old Polish śmiatana, from Proto-Slavic *sъmetana — smetana whipped cream.

סמעטענע (Yiddish): sour cream cream which has been treated with a benign bacterium

Definitions

  1. sour cream cream which has been treated with a benign bacterium

Ancestry of “סמעטענע”, step by step

סמעטענע traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Polish śmietana

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Polishśmietanasmetana, sour cream
2Old Polishśmiatana—
3Proto-Slavic*sъmetanasmetana whipped cream

via Russian смета́на

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianсмета́наsour cream; smetana
2Proto-Slavicsъmetanasmetana whipped cream
Every word from Proto-Slavic *sъmetana →Every word from Old Polish śmiatana →Every word from Polish śmietana →